Finally- Success with Gardenias

I cannot recall how many times I have failed when it comes to growing gardenias.  We moved to our current home last July- there was very little done in relation to landscaping -seriously, seriously lacking.  This March I decided to give gardenias another try- purchased two Southern Living Jubilation Gardenias and amended the soil.  By April they started developing many little buds and early May - I began my daily inspection to check on their progress- no whitefly, no burning or dropping off of buds- all good signs.  The buds swelled to a fairly good size and then stopped, I patiently waited their opening and was rewarded with their sweet smelling blooms yesterday for the very first time-kinda felt like I was their mother!!!  The plant is reported to bloom again later this fall- we will see if that happens.  Noticed at the nurseries this past weekend that they had sold out of all the jubilation varieties - but had plenty August Beauty, Dwarf, Radicans and Frost Proof types-just the fact that I can recall those varieties off of the type of my head should give you an idea about the number of times I have tried unsuccessfully to grow these beauties- hopefully I am not speaking too soon.  Would love to see them get established as well as those at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama-just love walking their grounds and seeing the beautiful landscapes they have cultivated.

Kindergarten Graduation

Monday, April 26th, was Lauren's last day as a Kindergarten student  at her once a week homeschool group.  The above picture is of her classmates and teachers.  The lady on the left also teaches Lauren piano lessons.  Lauren was so happy to read that the 1st grade students are not required to lay down for naps- she is not a napper and has not been for quite some time now.  We will continue to homeschool for the 2010-2011 school year and will take one week off for the months of May, June and July.  I remember all too well spending the first 6-9 weeks with my students reviewing what they learned last year and was so disappointed to find that a lot of them forgot their addition and subtraction facts in the lower grades.  Hoping this helps Lauren retain what she has learned and it also allows us to have shorter time periods of instruction.

Harvesting Lettuce

Finally- the black seeded simpson lettuce we planted in March is ready to harvest.  The heading type lettuces we started earlier- Iceberg and Buttercrunch did not "make" nearly as well as this loose leaf variety- will plant more of this for a fall supply.  Such a shame that the tomatoes are not ready as well.   As you can see- I do have weeds in my garden-I tend to be a lazy gardener and pull out weeds on a daily basis just as I am checking the health of the plants instead of just getting in there and pulling weeds.  The lettuce above is planted with some roses, sweet william, rosemary, swiss chard and morning glories-their vibrant green color and form make a nice compliment to the other vegetation.  Thinking that next time I will start them in trays and transplant later to make it easier to mulch the entire bed and will add arugula as well.

Four Generations of Females

My Grandmother, Mother, Lauren and myself.  Took several photos and not one was exactly what I wanted- this was one of the better ones- difficulty getting everyone to have a pleasant expression at the same time.

A Very Good Way to Smash Strawberries

Getting ready to make strawberry freezer jam, I realized that Lauren's little hands would be perfect for smashing the strawberries.  After washing her hands MYSELF- I instructed her the squish the berries- she had a great time.  Liked that the recipe called for considerably less sugar than others we had reviewed and it turned out to have a very pretty color. Cliff, however, commented that it could use more sugar.

Queen Elizabeth Rose

Love the clear pink hue of this grandiflora rose Queen Elizabeth.  Just had to snip the blooms to take camping with us this weekend.

The Pickers Are Here!

Borrowed the above title from the classic Jimmy Stewart movie Shenadoah-Cliff, Lauren and I went to Scott, Arkansas this morning to pick strawberries-lots of fresh berries to be found in our area-but very few will let you pick them yourself.  Cliff picked 5 lbs, Lauren 4 lbs. and I picked 3 lbs for a total of 12 pounds of strawberries. Plans are to just enjoy them plain, with angel food cake, chocolate covered, strawberry butter, with yogurt , in salads  and strawberry jam.  Also included a picture of Lauren picking honeysuckle- the fragrance was amazing!!!  The temperature hit 93 today-predicted to be in the 70's on Saturday.